Straight answer to a crooked question

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Everyone throws. No one throws. Take your pick. Cricket has
never dealt satisfactorily with the issue of illegal actions. An
inordinate amount of time has been wasted upon the subject.

An alien could be forgiven for assuming it is the hottest topic
in the game and that batsmen around the world were being battered
by baseball pitchers in the guise of bowlers. In fact, batsmen are
dictating terms and precious few have been taken to hospital this
decade. Still, the problem needed to be sorted out because it had
caused unnecessary conflict.

Emotions run high whenever throwing is mentioned. Accordingly, a
group of past players, including such luminaries as Angus Fraser
and Michael Holding, met recently in Dubai with instructions to
produce a solution that protected the game, reflected the facts
revealed by the scientists and was capable of surviving the
scrutiny of the lawyers. In other words, it had to be objective and
contemporary.

By and large, the experts have succeeded. Their overriding
purpose was "to prevent bowlers from throwing the ball".
Unfortunately it is not as simple as that. Throwing is hard to
define. In the days before high-powered cameras and slow-motion
replays, it was possible to draw the line at straightening the arm.
Now, it has emerged almost all bowlers straighten the arm, most of
them more than the 10 per cent tolerated under the recently
rewritten and swiftly outdated rules.

As much was confirmed by the biotechnicians in a secret report
prepared for the ICC a few years ago. Using the latest technology,
the report revealed that under the existing laws almost every
bowler was illegal. Michael Holding admitted as much after the
meeting in Dubai.

Previously a sceptic, Holding studied the evidence and realised
that "when bowlers who appear to have proper actions to the naked
eye are thoroughly analysed, they are shown to straighten their
arms by 10 or 11 degrees. Under the strict rules of the game they
are throwing". He added that "cricket needs to deal with this
reality".

Confronting reality has been the inevitable and correct course
of action. Rather than ignoring the facts, the experts took them
into account and concentrated on simplifying procedures. Their
starting point was appearances. It was an attempt to return to
commonsense. Jerky actions demand a closer look. Smooth actions can
be left alone. It is not supposed to be a witch-hunt.

Realising the matter had become slow and bureaucratic, the past
players have recommended the removal of several stages of
investigation and correction. They suggest that reported bowlers
are referred immediately to the ICC without reference to their
country's cricket board. Further offences, they advise, should
result in suspension.

Responding to the evidence, they suggested the toleration level
be raised to 15 per cent for all types of bowlers, thereby
abolishing the bias against spinners. Previously, spinners were set
more stringent standards than fast bowlers, whereupon Murali's
supporters pointed out that his arm swings through at the same
speed as any paceman.

Furthermore the experts have recommended that bowlers capable of
hyperextension are allowed to continue playing, which means that
Shoaib Akhtar, whose elbows can bend far beyond the horizontal, has
nothing to fear. Bowlers whose arms or wrists twist should also be
tolerated. Sri Lankans will celebrate this conclusion because it
removes the question mark beside the name of their greatest
bowler.

Murali has been made legitimate. He keeps within the 15 per cent
limit and, anyhow, his arm twists rather than straightens, a point
he set out to prove on English television by bowling while wearing
an arm brace. Even his doosra has passed muster.

Sooner or later, cricket had to recognise emerging facts. Sooner
or later, a pragmatic way had to be found of dealing with this most
emotive issue. No game wants to be dragged through the courts.
Cricket is a struggle between bowlers and batsmen pursued in a much
changed world. Nothing can go through on the nod.

At least throwing has been defined. At last, offenders will be
assisted and not merely thrown out of the game. Harbhajan Singh and
Shoaib Akhtar might have been lost or condemned. Instead, they have
been helped. Only the shamelessly sentimental will reject the
report. Everyone else will be relieved that finally the matter is
to be put on a proper footing.